The 4M Smarties have settled into the routines of our classroom and are doing well with their organization and responsibilities. During our “Time to Organize” each day, we go through which materials each student will bring home in order to complete their homework. There have only been a few forgotten folders or spelling words, but in every one of those circumstances the student has come to me and let me know the next morning. Advocating for oneself is an important life skill and I am impressed with all the students’ sense of responsibility.

This week we gathered as a class and read a story about Martin Luther King Jr. On another day, everyone reread the story independently, paying attention to the most important events in his life. Next week, we will use those facts to write a response to the question, “What events in MLK’s life made him want to change the world?” We will continue to work on main idea and details this month as we prepare to start our first research project about a person’s life and accomplishments.

We also looked at the structure of expository writing. The students were given sentence strips about Thomas Edison’s life and they had to work together to combine the sentences under a main idea and put them in a logical sequence. I heard great conversations around the room about what details made sense together and why a detail might not belong with a main idea.

The Unit 1 math test was on Thursday and we will start Unit 2 next week. I will also give a baseline assessment of multiplication facts next week so we can see what each student needs to practice. Unit 2 focuses on factors and multiples, so we need to know those facts accurately. We will make fact triangles for the 12 tables next week because those will be new to most of the students.

The details for the landform project for social studies will go home on next Friday. The students will have two weeks to complete it. (Students will need 1-2 bags of Model Magic and a 12 x 12 piece of foam core, in case you're out shopping this weekend.)

Officer John Walden spoke to the 4th grade about internet safety this week. You can use this meeting as a springboard for a conversation at home.

Our Wisconsin Fast Plants continue to grow! The 4M scientists learned the parts of the flower this week in preparation for our second dissection…. the lily! We will be dissecting lilies on Friday, 1:00 – 1:45. I could use 2-3 parents to help with this activity. Please write your name in the comment section below if you can come in to assist.

Thank you to Mr. Lane (Brady’s dad) and Mrs. Steele (Carter’s mom) for helping with math games and photocopying this week!

Ask a Fourth Grader!

What did you learn about internet safety from Officer John?

How do you feel about your multiplication facts? Do you need to practice? Which ones do you feel confident about?